Did Students Memorize Dates in History a Hundred Years Ago?

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, February 4, 1913: We had an exam in General History this morning. It was a review of all we had gone over this year. I was so afraid I’d make a sorry mark, so I began to review but I didn’t get over it all. I got some things wrong, but then I know I got more right. At least I think so.

Picture on page 155 of the hundred-year-old textbook — Roman Fleet (Source: Outlines of General History by V.A. Renouf)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Did Grandma need to memorize dates for the exam?

Here’s what the Suggestions for Teachers section of a hundred-year-old text-book had to say about memorizing dates:

In conclusion, I will touch on the question of learning dates. These should be memorized by all students. It is well to bring as many events as possible into relation with a memorized date. The few students who have a ready memory for dates can be encouraged to remember most or all of them; but the majority of the class should not be burdened with more than are necessary for a correct general perspective of the centuries.

Outlines of General History (1909) by V.A Renouf

Would a history teacher today agree or disagree with this suggestion?

The book also included some sample questions that teachers might use. I did a previous post that included a few of the sample questions:

History Test Questions a Hundred Years Ago

Tired of Winter

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Saturday, February 1, 1913:

February

A hope of the coming spring time,

When all the trees are in bloom

When the cold of the Winter has vanished

Onto the gathering gloom.

I guess I spent today at home doing a little bit of work for the benefit of someone other than myself. Tweetie arrived about four o’clock.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Grandma began each month with a poem. This poem accurately expresses how I feel. I’m tired of the gloom and ready for spring!

(I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow tomorrow.)

What work did Grandma have to do? Was it housework for her mother . . . or farmwork for her father?

At least it sounds like the day got better as it progressed. Tweetie was a nickname for Helen Wesner. She was a friend of Grandma’s.

Played Cards After Play Practice

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Friday, January 31, 1913: We went to practice again this evening. I don’t know any more of my part than the first time we practiced. Ruth had to stay in turn after it was over to spend a few hours in card playing. I’m not much of a card player but I did learn to play one game.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

The play practice probably was held at the McEwensville Community Center. The building has been a community center for more than 100 years–and it had a wonderful stage. In recent years part of the stage has been converted into a storage area, but when I was a child I can remember it being a regular stage with lots of rows of curtains. I took these pictures in 2011 when I attended a community pot luck picnic.

It sounds like Grandma’s sister Ruth went along to the play practice. Based upon a previous diary entry, I thought that the play was a class play and that the cast members were students who would be graduating in the spring. On January 20, Grandma wrote:

Our class expects to have a swell blow-out one of these days. We’re going to give a play. . .

Ruth was two years older than Grandma—and a teacher at a one-room school house. This entry makes it sound like Ruth was also in the play. Maybe it really was a community play rather than a class play—or maybe Ruth just accompanied Grandma so that Grandma wouldn’t need to walk to town in the dark by herself.

In any case, it sounds like the girls had fun socializing after play practice. It probably was an almost perfect Friday night.

Studied Russo-Japanese War in History Classes a Hundred Years Ago

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, January 30, 1913: Am commencing to worry about a certain general history examination that comes next week. It includes over seven hundred pages. I hope to review it all.

Port.Arthur — Caption: Port Arthur Harbor After the Surrender. Source: Outlines of General History (1909)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

At Grandma’s school some classes were less than a year long. Since the exam was going to cover more than 700 pages, it probably was the final exam for general history.

A general history textbook published in 1909, called Outlines of General History, probably covers material similar to what Grandma learned.

The last chapter of the book begins with a picture taken after the surrender of Port Arthur. This siege occurred during the Russo-Japanese War.

The Russo-Japanese War took place during 1904 and 1905. Russia controlled Port Arthur and had rail lines from Siberia to the port. It was an ice-free port and could operate during the winter months.

Japan wanted to control the harbor and there were several battles at Port Arthur which the Japanese won.

The Russo-Japanese War ended when a peace treaty was signed at Portsmouth New Hampshire on September 5, 1905. It was mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt .

The last two paragraphs in the hundred-year-old general history textbook say:

. . . the treaty of Portsmouth has guaranteed for China a period of security. The Manchurian question, to be sure is not yet definitely settled. Article V of the Portsmouth treaty says: “The Russian and Japanese Governments engage themselves reciprocally not to put any obstacles in the way of the general measures, which shall be alike for all nations, that China may take for the development of commerce and industry of Manchuria.”

The interpretation of this article is still an open question. It may develop into an unconditional restoration of China’s sovereign rights in Manchuria, or it may also be nullified by the economic interests of Russia and Japan.

Outlines of General History (1909) by V.A. Renouf

Hope to Win 2 1/2 Dollar Gold Piece

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, January 28, 1913: Our teacher made such a wonderful proposition today. It was made to our class. The one who writes the best essay on a given subject is to receive a two dollar and a half gold piece. Margaret G. came home with me to stay till tomorrow. We had a dandy time this evening, although I am afraid our lessons suffered some. Rufus made candy. And so the evening went.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Grandma—I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you write the best essay and get the gold piece. I think you have a chance since you sound so hopeful.

I wish you’d told us the topic so that I could vicariously “help” you write the essay a hundred years later.

—

I’m not sure who Margaret G. was, but it sounds like the girls had a wonderful time. Rufus refers to Grandma’s sister Ruth.

Thumb Still Sore

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Saturday, January 25, 1913: I have a sore thumb although I do not think it is as bad as it was several days ago.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Poor Grandma—She sure seemed to get a lot of illnesses and injuries.

It sounds like she hurt her finger again (though I suppose that she possibly was still complaining about her December injury). On December 16, 1912 she wrote:

. . . We killed some pigs and I took a slice off the end of my thumb. Oh sad the day, for I don’t care anything about having a sore thumb . . .

1913 Shredded Wheat Advertisement

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, January 21, 1913: Nothing to write.

Source: National Food Magazine (January, 1913)

Advertisement Text:

The Call of the Bell

It is music to Johnny’s ears if he starts the day with a warm, nourishing breakfast of Shredded Wheat

–and it’s so easy to get him off to school without fuss or worry because it’s ready-cooked and has in it everything he needs for study or play. It’s the whole wheat, cooked, shredded and baked to a crisp, golden brown.

Simply heat the biscuits in the oven a few moments to restore crispness, then pour hot milk over them adding a little cream and salt, or sweeten to suit the taste. A muscle-making, brain,-building food for children and grown-ups, for athletes and invalids, for outdoor men and indoor men, for workers with hand or brain.

The Only Breakfast Cereal Made in Biscuit Form.

Made only by

The Shredded Wheat Company

Niagara Fall, N.Y.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Since not much happened a hundred years ago today, I’ll share a 1913 advertisement I found for Shredded Wheat in National Food Magazine.

Back then you were supposed to heat the biscuits and then pour hot milk over them. Strange. . but I decided to try it.

The result—

I ended up with a hot, soft, mushy cereal. I had a difficult time getting past the texture—which was so very different from the crispiness of cold shredded wheat—but it warmed my tummy on a cold winter day.